


This Place

by shadowsamurai



Category: Star Trek: The Next Generation
Genre: Angst, Friendship, Gen, Subtext
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-06-16
Updated: 2012-06-16
Packaged: 2017-11-07 21:08:16
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,229
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/435476
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/shadowsamurai/pseuds/shadowsamurai
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>She hates this place they have found their friendship in, but doesn't know how to change things, especially when he won't talk to her.</p>
            </blockquote>





	This Place

**Author's Note:**

> Set after First Contact, but before Insurrection.

Disclaimer: I don't own anything, I'm just borrowing things for a while and I promise I'll put everything back exactly how I found it when I've finished. Well, almost exactly how I found it. ;)

JLP-BC-JLP-BC-JLP-BC

Dr Beverly Crusher was bustling around sickbay tidying the beds, checking the systems, and generally making a big show of looking busy. "Lecturing me on the Prime Directive," she muttered. "How dare he! And then he goes and gives that…that *woman* a guided tour of the ship almost!"

Crusher opened a drawer and threw some items in. "He listened to her when he wouldn't to me. Or Worf," she added belatedly, even though no one else was around. "We were so close! I would love to know what the hell happened. We hardly even talk any more; it's like we're strangers!"

Unfortunately for Crusher, she wasn't alone, though she didn't realise she had company. Commander William Riker had entered sickbay just to touch base with the doctor as he did occasionally. He liked to keep in personal contact with all of the senior staff separately, and all the different divisions that existed aboard the Enterprise; security, medical, engineering, etc.

Crusher had been that involved in her noisy rant that she hadn't noticed the doors to sickbay opening or the tall rangy figure of Will Riker entering, which gave the commander a perfect opportunity to study her. He could see she was agitated about something, and as he listened, he could guess as what. Or at whom.

Moving towards the doors, making them open, Riker made a great deal of noise as he pretended to enter sickbay. "Dr Crusher!" he called, a little louder than perhaps was necessary.

Crusher appeared from her office looking calm and collected as always. "Yes, Commander?"

If Riker hadn't interrupted her rant, he would never have known something was wrong. But he did, and it was time to try and help. "Just wanted to check in with you, Beverly," he replied, turning on the infamous Riker charm as he smiled at her.

It worked. Crusher smiled back. "I'm fine, Will. No problems here."

He nodded, though his eyes were clouded with concern. "Are you sure? After what happened with the Borg, everyone's been pretty much on edge."

"Understandably, but I'm fine. Really."  
Riker smiled again. "One more fine, Doctor, and I won't believe you." He became serious. "You know you can talk to me. I'm your friend as well as a colleague."

"I'm glad you didn't add commanding officer to that," Crusher replied.

"Only one man can say that on this ship." Riker hesitated. "He's the problem, isn't he?"

Crusher didn't even try to deny it; there was no point. She just moved to one of the beds and sat down on it. "Oh, Will, what am I going to do? We seem to have reached this place where nothing matters any more. It's like he doesn't want me aboard his ship or even around him."

Riker walked over to her and sat next to her. "That's not true, Beverly."

"We don't talk."

"He's a busy man."

"He was never too busy for me." The words just came out, and it wasn't what she intended to say. "Or for the rest of the crew," Crusher added hurriedly.

But it was too late. The damage, so to speak, had been done. Riker lifted his arm and put it around Crusher's shoulders, drawing her gently to him. "Have you tried just cornering him and demanding to know what's going on?" he asked, glad when she laughed into his shoulder. "Bluntness can work incredibly well sometimes, especially when it comes to the Captain and talking about feelings."

"Do you think it would work?"

"Either that or Worf and I can kidnap him for you," Riker offered. "Lock him on the holodeck with you for a week. No escape. We'll feed you, of course."

Crusher laughed again. "I think you'd be court marshalled for mutiny."

"Or given promotions as thanks," Riker said, looking on the brighter side of things. "I'm serious, Bev. Talk to him. Either go to him or get him to come here. But you have to sort this out before it gets out of hand."

"A Mohammad and the mountain thing, is it, Will?" Crusher asked.

He shrugged. "I think so."

"And what would Deanna say if she saw us like this?"

"She'd probably be over the moon that I was sat here comforting you instead of telling you to get over it," Riker replied, grinning. "I'd get a gold star for effort and I'd be the teacher's pet."

Beverly sat up and looked at her friend. "How are things going between you two?"

Riker shrugged again, but there was a smile tugging at the corners of his mouth. "I've never given up hope. I think that maybe, sometime soon, we'll finally get a second chance."

"You deserve it, Will. Both of you do," Crusher said.

"So do you," Riker told her, standing up. "Now, I'm on my way to the bridge. It'll take me about ten minutes. If you haven't told the Captain to come down in twenty, I'll send him myself. Understood, Doctor?"

Crusher nodded. "Yes, Commander."

"Good. Carry on!" Riker waved as he walked out of sickbay.

JLP-BC-JLP-BC-JLP-BC

Unfortunately, in such a situation, Riker was anything but a man of his word. As he travelled up to the bridge in the turbo lift, he carefully schooled his expression into one of concern and preoccupation.

"Ah, Number One. Anything to report?" Picard asked as the commander stepped out onto the bridge.

Riker looked up. "Hmm? Oh, no, sir. Everything's ship-shape."

In the chair to the Captain's left, Deanna Troi's perfect forehead creased every so slightly. Then, as quietly as she could manage, she thought, *'Will, what are you up to?'*

Riker didn't reply, but she knew he'd heard her; through the focussed state of his mind, he grinned back at her. Troi shook her head. She knew this promised to be interesting, at the very least.

Picard was frowning as well. "Clearly not *everything,* Number One. Do we have a problem somewhere?"

Riker sat on the edge of the chair to the Captain's right and leant forward. "I wouldn't say a problem, sir, but there is an issue that needs addressing. It's something I think that would be better handled by you."

Picard had also leant forward and was nodding. "Alright? Who must I speak with? Or where do I need to go?"

"Sickbay, sir," Riker replied, his poker face in full play.

Picard's expression immediately grew concerned. "Is there something wrong with Dr Crusher?"

Inwardly, Riker was cheering. That was the little piece of information he had needed to know, that Picard still cared for Crusher. Now all the Captain had to do was tell the Doctor how he felt.

Outwardly, the commander just spread his hands in a 'don't know' gesture. "Dr Crusher never said anything outright to me, sir, but I could tell there was something bothering her."

*'Don't gloat so loudly, Commander, you're deafening me,'* Troi thought dryly. Riker still ignored her.

Picard nodded again. "Thank you for bringing the matter to my attention, Number One." He hesitated before standing and heading towards the turbo lift. "You have the bridge, Commander."

Once the doors were closed, Riker allowed himself a smug smile. "What?" he asked when Troi pinned him with a glare and shook her head.

"You're scheming."

"I'm not."

Troi raised an eyebrow. "Really? Then what was that all about?"

"Helping a friend," Riker replied honestly.

Troi studied him for a moment before smiling. "Which one?"

"Both of them," he said, smiling back.

JLP-BC-JLP-BC-JLP-BC

Crusher looked up in surprise when she heard a knock on her door; she wasn't aware anyone had entered sickbay. Her astonishment grew when she saw who it was. "Captain. Is everything alright?"

"I was hoping you could tell me, Doctor," he replied. "Is there a problem I should know about?"

"Not exactly. Were you already on your way down?" she asked. "Because I was just about to contact you."

"Commander Riker informed me there may be a problem that needed my attention," Picard said, then gestured the chair. "May I?"

"Of course, Captain." Outwardly, Crusher smiled, but inwardly, she was plotting the many ways she could torture and cause immense pain to one William Thomas Riker, which in turn depended on the outcome of the meeting with the Captain. If everything went well, Crusher would settle for kissing the commander senseless, which wouldn't take long; if everything *didn't* go well….

"How long will we sit in silence, Beverly, before you decide to talk to me?" Picard asked, startling her out of her thoughts. His voice was so quiet, so gentle, yet laced with pain and despair.

"What do you want me to say?" she retorted, her tone sharper than she intended.

Picard frowned. "I want to know why you've been avoiding me, and why you seem so upset."

Crusher stared at him incredulously. She couldn't believe he had just said that and the worst thing was he looked as though he really had no clue. "You don't know, do you?" she asked, shaking her head.

"I wouldn't have asked if I did," he confirmed.

Crusher shook her head again and laughed. It seemed to be the only thing left to do. "If you don't know what the problem is, Captain, I'm certainly not going to tell you."

"Goddammit, Beverly, I'm not psychic!" Picard snapped, standing abruptly. He started to pace, his shoulders heaving as he tried to calm himself. Crusher just watched him. Eventually, he turned. "This is personal, isn't it."

"Is that statement or a question?"

Picard rounded the desk and leant against it, dangerously close to her. "It was a statement, and an unnecessary one at that. Lily was…a dear woman, but our relationship would never have been anything more than it was unless a drastic change in circumstances occurred."

"But you liked her," Crusher said, managing to make it sound like an accusation.

"I wasn't aware that was against the rules," Picard replied mildly. "In fact, I'm not even sure what the rules are. Would you care to enlighten me?"

Crusher sighed and leant forward, her elbows on her desk and her head in her hands. She could feel the heat from Picard's body and it took a great deal of self control not to reach out to touch him.

"I hate this place we're in, Jean-Luc, and I don't even know how we got here," Crusher said eventually. "I know our relationship has never been particularly stable or conventional, but we went from being close to being galaxies apart in a matter of weeks, it seemed. What happened?"

"I don't know," he replied honestly. "It wasn't a conscious decision on my part, I can tell you that. And I don't think you wanted us to drift; that much is obvious. It seems to be 'one of those things'."

Crusher looked up at him. "Does it have to be 'one of those things'? I mean, if we both want to, can't we change something about it?"

Picard sighed. "I'm not sure…."

"I'm not saying that we jump feet first into a relationship, Jean-Luc, but can't we at least try to repair our friendship to start with?"

Finally, he smiled. "I would like that very much. I have missed your company, you know."

"And I yours." Crusher stared at him. "Jean-Luc, I don't ever want to go back to that place, where we don't talk to each other unless it's in a professional capacity. Where we don't share the odd breakfast or dinner; where we're not friends."

"I understand, and I agree." Picard reached out and took Crusher's hand gently. "But what about this place, Beverly, where we are now?"

"Do you mean my office?" she asked politely.

Picard sighed. "You are an incredibly frustrating woman at times."

"I aim to please."

"You know what I meant, Beverly," he said, a slight firm edge to his voice.

It was Crusher's turn to sigh. "Yes, I do. This place is…nice. It's good."

"But?"

Crusher shook her head. It would be all too easy to say 'not good enough', but she wouldn't. Although judging from the look on Picard's face, the words weren't necessary, just like his question.

"It will do for now, and if there are no other options, it will *have* to do," Crusher replied finally.

Picard smiled. He liked the way she had phrased that, ever so carefully, covering every eventuality. "Tomorrow is another day, Doctor, as they say."

"That it is, Captain. That it is." Crusher then stared at him expectantly.

"What?" Picard asked.

"You're disturbing my work," she replied, straight-faced.

"Really?"

"Yes, I need this hand for inputting data," Crusher said, holding their still-joined hands up.

"Ah." Picard reluctantly let go. "My apologies, Doctor. I shall leave you to finish you work."

"The Lounge after our shifts are over," Crusher called to him. "You can buy me a drink."

The Lounge was the *Enterprise-E's* equivalent of Ten Forward, though it lacked the atmosphere yet. Picard smiled at Crusher's offer.

"I'll see you after your shift then."

Crusher smiled as Picard disappeared from the room. *'Maybe this place isn't so bad after all,'* she thought as she sat down to work.

FIN


End file.
